WWII Era Electronics Advertisements in QST Magazine

Maybe
it comes from having crossed the half-century Rubicon, but with increasing
frequency I find myself seeking out vintage magazines to learn how the
world used to be. I am a realist who has no misconceptions about how
idyllic things used to be and that today is utter debauchery, but it
is apparent from a lot of the publications that we surely have changed
significantly in the last 50+ years - better in some ways, worse in
others.

A couple weeks ago I purchased a lot of WWII era QST
magazines off eBay. As I have been doing for a while on my
Airplanes and Rockets website, I am going to begin scanning and
posting vintage electronics magazine advertisements and articles. A
lot of the information is timeless in its application, especially since
vacuum tubes are still in widespread use in the Amateur Radio realm.
Of course electronics fundamentals never change.

The
company advertisements from the World War II era are very interesting
in that they oft times include a theme that proudly proclaims their
commitment to America and her Allies' victory in the effort. Many familiar
faces are seen in the ads, some of the country's longest existing electronics
companies: RCA, Triplett Instruments, IRC, Raytheon. Below are a few
that I scanned from the September 1942 (less than a year after the Japanese
attacked Pearl Harbor), and September 1943 editions of the American
Radio Relay League's "QST" magazine.

Of
particular interest to me is the Bliley Electric Company, which is located
right here in Erie, PA, about 2 miles from my house. Today the name
is Bliley Technologies,
I suppose as a perceived need to modernize the company image. What has
not changed is Bliley's products - crystals, oscillators, and other
frequency generation items. Here is a nice
slideshow
of their production facility. Do you wonder what the Greek word "κρυσταλλος"
at the top of the ad translates to? It is "crystal ice!"

BTW,
Bliley is not the only well-known electronics manufacturer in Erie.
Spectrum Control
is headquartered here, too. RF Cafe advertiser
Spectrum
Microwave is a subsidiary of theirs.